Reed nears milestone

JORDAN KAHN, Staff writer

Tuesday

Dec 14, 2010 at 12:01 AMAug 15, 2012 at 3:35 PM

DAYTONA BEACH -- With a 69-58 win against Webber International on Monday, Bethune-Cookman stayed unbeaten at home this season and point guard C.J. Reed got to within two points of a career scoring milestone.

Entering the game, C.J. Reed needed 14 points to pass his father, head coach Cliff Reed, for 12th on B-CU's all-time B-scoring list. The junior had two points at the half and finished with 12 for a career total of 1,207 points.

Reed also had a game-high seven assists against the Warriors (4-3).

With a trip to No. 11-ranked Baylor up next for B-CU (5-5), Coach Reed said seeing his son pass him on the scoring list will be special with one condition.

"I hope it comes in a win," he said. "That would be the best part."

Coming off a season-best 16 points vs. UCF, B-CU senior forward Alexander Starling finished with game-highs of 15 points and 10 rebounds to help the Wildcats improve to 4-0 at Moore Gymnasium.

After a back-and-forth start, the Wildcats fell behind 17-10 before a 3-pointer by guard Kevin Dukes and a jump hook on the block by forward Javoris Bryant pulled B-CU within two.

"In the first half, they outrebounded us and outhustled us and that kept them in the game," Starling said.

And early on, the Warriors consistently pushed the ball up the floor to get shot attempts or force fouls before the Wildcats' defense could get set.

But with 5:30 left in the half and B-CU up 21-20, Webber's up-tempo game plan started losing steam.

Disparities in long-range shooting and offensive rebounds were key factors. Webber shot 40 percent from 3-point range for the game to B-CU's 20 percent.

"They beat us on the glass in the first half," Coach Reed said. "Defensively, we turned it up (in the second half) and made plays in transition."

The score was 27-25 at the half, and the Wildcats led most of the second half by a half-dozen ore more points.

By game's end, B-CU won the rebound advantage 33-28, but in the first half, the Warriors grabbed six offensive boards to the Wildcats' one. Coach Reed said that's a concern.

"That's hustle," he said. "We've been outrebounded really bad two times this year. (Monday) would have been the third night. And two of the three teams were smaller teams, which tells me they're playing with much more of a sense of urgency."